Despite repeated warnings, money-laundering is still a dangerous problem in Singapore

Singapore Democrats It should come as no surprise that Singapore was used to launder money from Malaysia in the corruption scandal that has engulfed 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). This is because Mr Lee Hsien Loong, then finance minister, rewrote our finance laws in 2001 which resulted in Singapore being turned into a banking secrecy hub. Since then, there have been warnings about illicit money coming into Singapore. In 2006, Merrill Lynch (now bankrupt) and Capgemini reported that the number of 'super-rich' Indonesians living in Singapore stood at an astounding 18,000. Their collective wealth amounted to approximately US$87 billion. The Indonesian government complained that much of the money came from illegal activities in Indonesia. Financial analyst and Morgan Stanley former chief economist Mr Andy Xie had warned that Singapore's financial success “came mostly fr...